Super lightweight shoes are a growing category. Many of them are, unfortunately, made to be practically disposable (wasteful of resources as well as your hard-earned cash). And they are often quite….well, ugly. If you are looking for something more foot-covering than a flip-flop, but lighter than a sneaker, you have flat-insoled ballet slippers and—I can’t really think of anything else.

Enter Ahnu’s Yoga shoes. Very flexible, with a very basic (but still lightly supportive) microsuede-covered footbed, a pretty textile exterior and sweet little straps across the bridge of the foot, they are perfect casual shoes with a multitude of uses. I like the gentle elastic across the back heel, and the low-but-still covered front.

I wore them for a couple-hour impromptu hike (see image above paired with my Pendleton skirt), and they were comfortable, and I did yoga in the meadow outside my house in the Oregon mountains, and they were thin enough so that I could still feel the ground, but protective at the same time.

Because they are so light, they are also idea for travel—they pack flat, take up as much room as a thick pair of socks and are great for warm climates.

Made in the USA, the shoes are totally vegan and so far I have worn them quite a bit—even out to dinner…and they’re holding up beautifully, proving they are well made.